St Helens new recruit suffers horror injury in Bradford Bulls victory

St Helens look set to be without new recruit Jacob Host for a lengthy period after Paul Rowley appeared to confirm the forward broke his leg on Saturday evening.

Host had to be helped from the field during the Saints’ dramatic victory over Bradford Bulls and was in visible discomfort after going down and appearing to land awkwardly following a tackle from an opposition player.

It looked as though he had suffered an injury to his ankle initially – but Rowley confirmed after the game that the problem could be significantly more severe, with Host suffering a suspected broken leg.

Rowley said: “He’ll be broken leg, I think. He’s broke his leg.”

That would be a major blow for the Saints, who will also be without George Delaney for next weekend’s cup trip to Castleford Tigers after he failed a HIA in the tackle that saw Bradford’s Elliot Peposhi sent off.

But Rowley hinted it may not be fully clear-cut over whether or not Delaney is definitely ruled out.

He said: “There’s a bit of a funny one with that. Because we’ll have to look at it; he was totally fine, but he certainly got a whack around the head. But if it remains how it is, then he will be missing next weekend.”

In terms of the game, Rowley admitted he was thrilled with how his side dug deep having trailed to the Bulls on multiple occasions, with Deon Cross’ late try ultimately the difference.

Rowley said: “We’ve got a bit of character in the team, so that’s good to see. I mentioned against Leigh that we think it’s a non-negotiable but it’s now always evident.

“So that box is ticked. We’ve found a way to win in terms of we’ve got a sprinkling of how I’d like us to play, but that’s obviously getting more difficult with the injuries we’ve got. But we’re digging deep and we’re getting ourselves.. I wouldn’t say get ourselves out of jail.”